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Secretarial Privilege
For All Nails #39c: Secretarial Privilege by Noel Maurer ---- :Coyoacán, Capital District, U.S.M. FN1 :2 January 1973 Vincent Mercator was, if not happy, at keast a satisfied man. The news itself was not unexpected, even if the details were. The report had been given to him not ten minutes previously. He had immediately called in the General Staff. "Has this report been confirmed?" asked Mercator. "No, sir," replied Colonel Franklin Kress. "All we have is the base report from our agents in Boricua. FN2 With your permission, we will begin overflights from Guantánamo tomorrow." Mercator nodded. "Of course." General Emilio Scott spoke up. "We night not find anything, sir. The report suggests that the Germans are only beginning to unload the equipment." Mercator nodded. "That's right. But that doesn't matter. The point is to let the Germans know that we know what they're doing." "Is that wise, sir?" This was from Colonel Christopher Sauri. Mercator had never been one to surround himself with yes-men. "Why not?" asked Mercator. Sauri was young, and fresh-faced, the kind of man who would be fat were he not an officer in the Unified Armed Services. "The Germans might ... No. Sir, if German preparations should become public somehow, by some other power, they might blame us if they think we knew first." "That's true. Other opinions?" The Secretary of War looked around his office. General Michael Huffington spoke up. Tall and good-humored, his last name belied his obviously Mexicano origins. "We might not want to be so sanguine about a German presence so near Continental Mexico. Yucatán is within 2500 kilometers, and we have reason to believe that the Germans have longer-range devices ready for deployment." General Armand Martillo was the General Staff strategic expert. Martillo was a short, intense man, his head entirely shaved. "Allow me to point out that we are already threatened by Kramer submersibles and Tory airmobile squadrons. Until our own deterrent is ready, the existence of a German threat to the Tory mainland may be in our interest." Huffington nodded. "True. The Germans are our 'allies.'" Huffington made the quote marks in the air as he said "allies." "That said, our interests may diverge, and we may regret allowing them a strategic foothold in the hemisphere." Secretary Mercator spoke up. "What do our contacts in the Boriqueño government tell us?" This was Colonel Anthony Marín's responsibility. "I'll put in some discreet inquiries. It is worrisome that the Boriqueños haven't told already told us about their intentions." Mercator nodded. "We may need to remind the Boriqueños who their real allies are. After all, Loyalist guerrillas remain active." The implied threat was obvious. Mexico had put the Jeffersonistas in power in San Juan, and Mexico could remove them. Marín nodded. Huffington spoke again. "I support the overflights. We need to know how much time we have before the facilities are operational." Martillo nodded. Sauri spoke up. "What's the upside of letting the Germans know what we know, sir?" "Good question," said Mercator. "The entire Boricua operation has been one of subtle quid-pro-quos between us and the Germans. They publicly announced support for the independence movement. That was a veiled request for us to step up our aid for the rebels. We complied. In return, they forgave our debts and refrained from raising tariffs when the dólar went down. Their current, uh, activities are their quo for that last quid. General Barquera can tell you more." Mercator leaned back and steepled his hands. Barquera was an older man, the foreign relations expert in Mercator's shadow cabinet. "Markstein has always put domestic politics ahead of any other policy considerations. He is wily, however. If we signal that we know about the rockets but do nothing, he'll take it as a signal that we consider our debt to him for the economic support paid." "Objections?" asked Mercator. "Then it's decided." Sauri raised a finger. "Sir? What about the President?" Mercator smiled. "I don't think the President needs to know about this, do you?" The uniformed men around the table smiled and nodded. "Dismissed. Sauri, Kress, Barquera, stay here. I want to talk to you about the President." Mercator had been surprised, and was slightly worried, by the new president. Immanuel Moctezuma was untelegenic, looked downright uncomfortable on the tube, but his popularity ratings were unexpectedly high. Moctezuma had surprised Mercator by using his popularity to appoint several of his own cabinet members. Mercator was using his power to hold several Moctezuma appointees up in the Senate. It looked like Moctezuma was going to quietly back down, you couldn't blame the man for forgetting his place ... but wasn't this new Boricua situation tailor-made to remind Moctezuma just why his Secretary of War's knowledge and expertise was so invaluable? ---- Forward to FAN #40: That All the World Should be Counted. Forward to 12 January 1973: God's Smugglers. Forward to Caribbean: A Paper Tiger Revealed. Forward to USM Politics: Not-So-White Trash Nation. Return to For All Nails. Category: USM politics Category: Caribbean